Monday, January 25, 2010

Pentel Clarius AX605BP

One of the places I usually check out for new mechanical pencils is the 99cents only store. Every once in a while, they would replace their pencil stock with an entirely new line. I previously had bought 2 other pencils there. Yesterday I went to the store to buy the usual groceries for the house when I visited their stationery section. Previously, they sold the Papermate Apex here but today they had a new line of Pentel mechanical pencils. I bought one to check out and quickly took a picture when I arrived home. The Pentel Clarius seen here with its blister pack is sold in 4 different barrel colors named after crystals - onyx, emerald, saphire and ruby. I bought mine in onyx.As I opened the pack and took out the pencil, it reminded me of a doctor's pen when I was a child. It has a nice executive look, contoured rubber grip, chrome accents in the pocket clip, logo, cone tip and the top and middle of the pencil. The tip is retractable and the lead advances by pushing down on the top cap. I was pleasantly surprised with how smooth and quiet the lead advanced as I pushed down on the cap. The long rubber grip has 3 contoured sides for gripping the pencil in any position which was nice for big hands. A big black plastic cap on top covers the large eraser underneath. Chrome lettering informed me that the pencil was made in Japan. Writing with the Clarius was pleasant but there were occasions where the lead broke while I was writing. The barrel is bigger in diameter than my other mechanical pencils obviously because this was designed to be a writer's pencil and not for drafting purposes. Writing for a long time didn't fatigue my hand at all and after a few pages I was still comfortably writing with it.